Phoenix Housing Market As of January 2013: Our Real Estate Market Update

Summary of the Phoenix Housing Market: January 10, 2013Price per square foot in the Phoenix Real Estate MarketThe average price per square foot in the Phoenix Housing Market grew to $108, up $2 from the past month. The year over year (YOY) rise is $24 from last December 2011, while the complete growth in cost per square foot from the bottom of the market (March-April 2011) is $31.In the Phoenix Real Estate Market the first half of December was dominated by substantial sales of high-end properties while the concluding few days witnessed a growth in more affordable residences, especially with short sales. Prices consequently rose higher and stronger by the third week of December only to plummet sharply in the concluding days.Active Residential property Listings in the Phoenix Real Estate Market.The beginning of January 2013 is the 1st span in 6 months that listings in the Phoenix housing market have receded. The decline was a little over 900 listings as January began with 17,155 listings in the Phoenix MLS. The Phoenix Real Estate Market normally averaged 20,000-25,000 active home listings in the Phoenix MLS before the real estate upsurge and resulting foreclosure devastation. It will be essential to watch this number as we precede into the spring purchasing season. The number of home listings on the Phoenix housing market goes a long way in determining if we are living in a buyers market, the seller’s market or a normal market.The Phoenix Housing Market and ForeclosuresThe Phoenix Housing Market is enjoying a large increase in price per square foot thanks to the remarkable decline in foreclosure-type homes, which are typically bank owned properties and short sales. The reduction is 44% from prior December and 85% from December 2010. Property owners in the Phoenix Real Estate Market are no longer needing to contend with the unfairly low price of foreclosures.More regarding Foreclosures in the Phoenix Real Estate MarketPassages of these next 3 paragraphs were drawn From the Cromford Report, from which I am a paid subscriber and have the right to reproduce: December was truly an unpleasant period for people who have a preference for Phoenix foreclosures. Brand-new Notices of Trustee Sale for Maricopa County came in at 2,112 in total which included 1,994 for residential residences. The last time we had fewer than 2,000 residential notices in the Phoenix Housing Market in a month was May 2007.Documented Trustee Deeds totaled 1,399 of which 1,302 were residential. This is the lowest monthly amount of Trustee Deeds since November 2007 in the Phoenix Housing Market. As a sign of the times there were almost as many residential foreclosure notices canceled (1,881) as new ones filed (1,994). There were 8,758 residential notices active (i.e. pending foreclosures) as of January 1.This is 82 % below the peak level of 47,606 in December 2009. Total distressed residential inventory (active notices plus REO) stands at 14,547, down 77 % from the peak of 62,123 in February 2010. We are clearly almost at the end of the foreclosure wave in the Phoenix Real Estate Market.Phoenix Housing market: The Short-Term PredictionWe recently wrote on how the ongoing price per square foot trend for residences under a purchase contract can accurately forecast the cost per square foot for houses sold 4 to 8 weeks into the future. The price for pending sales leveled out in December so we are able to anticipate the sales price per square foot to level out in January. Prices are going higher to begin January 2013 so we may forecast price per square foot in February to continue upwards.Our complete and updated market summaries can be found on our blog under Phoenix Housing Tracker